REG - Neometals Ltd - Final Stage of ELi™ Pilot Trial Commences

NeometalsAnnouncement

22/05/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 3397P  Neometals Ltd  22 May 2024

22 May 2024

Neometals Ltd

("Neometals" or "the Company")

Final Stage of ELi™ Pilot Trial Commences

Highlights

·      Final Electrolysis stage of ELi™ Process pilot trials has
commenced in Canada at NESi, the testing facility of electrolyser vendor,
NORAM;

·      The test work will electrolyse a purified lithium chloride
solution from an operating South American brine source and produce lithium
hydroxide as the primary product; and

·      The long-duration (1000hr) component of the trial will provide
data confirming expected power consumption, membrane life and product quality
to support ongoing technology licensing activities.

Sustainable process technology developer, Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT & AIM:
NMT) ("Neometals" or "the Company"), is pleased to announce the commencement
of the final Electrolysis stage of a pilot test work program ("Electrolysis
Pilot") by Reed Advanced Materials Pty Ltd ("RAM"). RAM, the 70:30 Neometals
incorporated joint venture, with Mineral Resources Ltd, is commercialising its
proprietary ELi™ Process ("ELi™").

ELi™ uses electricity to convert lithium chloride solutions into lithium
hydroxide monohydrate ("Primary Product") in a conventional chlor-alkali cell,
replacing large volumes of reagents required in the industry standard,
chemical precipitation flowsheet. ELi™ has the potential to deliver users a
step-change in operating costs 1 .

Figure 1 - Schematic showing a comparison of the conventional flowsheet for
the production of lithium hydroxide from brines with the patented ELi™
process.

 

 

The Electrolysis Pilot will electrolyse lithium chloride brine from RAM's
successful 2023 'purification' testing campaign undertaken by SGS 2 . RAM has
completed pre-treatment and commenced the 1,000hr electrolysis membrane
durability test at NESi, the testing facility of electrolyser vendor NORAM.
This long-duration test work is expected to be completed in July 2024 and will
provide more accurate estimates of electrolyser power consumption and membrane
life, the two major variable ELi™ operating costs.

Additional testing in a full industrial height electrolysis cell will deliver
a fluid flow profile and cell dynamics to predict likely performance at
commercial scale. The intermediate electrolysis product solution will be
evaporated and crystallised into finished Primary Product by equipment vendor
JordProxa (accessory by-products include hydrogen and chlorine gas). The
Electrolysis Pilot is expected to confirm battery quality results for the
Primary Product which were achieved in previous test work. and the
Electrolysis Pilot will also provide samples for selected cathode producers to
enable a complete technical and economic assessment by the brine feedstock
provider.

RAM continues to evaluate other third-party brines as part of its Lithium
Chemical technology licensing business model. RAM holds 19 granted patents in
the principal lithium producing jurisdictions and has a further 15 pending
national phase patents at various stages of prosecution globally.

Authorised on behalf of Neometals by Christopher Reed, Managing Director.

-ENDS-

For more information, please contact:

 

 Neometals Ltd
 Chris Reed, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer       +61 8 9322 1182
 Jeremy McManus, General Manager - IP & IR                     +61 8 9322 1182

 Cavendish Capital Markets Ltd - NOMAD & Broker
 Neil McDonald                                                +44 (0)131 220 9771
 Peter Lynch                                                  +44 (0)131 220 9772
 Adam Rae                                                     +44 (0)131 220 9778

 

About Neometals

Neometals facilitates sustainable critical material supply chains and reduces
the environmental burden of traditional mining in the global transition to a
circular economy.

The Company is commercialising a portfolio of sustainable processing solutions
that recycle and recover critical materials from high-value waste streams.

Neometals' core focus is on the commercialisation of its patented, Lithium-ion
Battery ("LiB") Recycling technology (50% NMT), under a plant supply and
technology licensing business model.  Primobius GmbH is the 50:50
incorporated JV with 150-year-old German plant builder, SMS group GmbH, that
is commercialising the technology. Primobius is building a 2,500tpa recycling
plant for Mercedes-Benz under a long-term Cooperation Agreement.  It also
operates its own LiB disposal service in Germany and plans to offer its first
commercial 21,000tpa plant to North American licensee, Stelco, in JunQ 2025.

Neometals is also developing two advanced battery materials technologies for
commercialisation under low-risk, low-capex technology licensing business
models:

·      Lithium Chemicals (70% NMT) - Patented ELi™ electrolysis
process, co-owned 30% by Mineral Resources Ltd, to produce battery quality
lithium hydroxide from brine and/or hard-rock feedstocks at lowest quartile
operating costs. Pilot scale test work and Engineering Cost Study update
planned for completion in DecQ 2024; and

·      Vanadium Recovery (100% NMT) - Patent pending hydrometallurgical
process to produce high-purity vanadium pentoxide from steelmaking by-product
("Slag") at lowest-quartile operating cost and carbon footprint.

For further information visit www.neometals.com.au
(http://www.neometals.com.au/)

 

 1  For full details refer to Neometals ASX announcement dated 26th April and
titled "Lithium - Exceptional Engineering Cost Study Results"

 2  For full details refer to Neometals ASX announcement dated 10th November
2023 and titled "Successful ELiTM Purification Pilot Trial"

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